


For Him I'd Do Anything

by anxiousravenclaw



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Attempted Murder, Child Loss, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt Thor (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Imprisonment, Inspired by Fanart, Intersex Loki (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki and Thor Are Not Related, Loss, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Loki (Marvel), Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Patricide, Poor Loki (Marvel), Protective Avengers, Protective Thor (Marvel), Slow To Update, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, War Prize Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-07 04:39:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17359124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiousravenclaw/pseuds/anxiousravenclaw
Summary: Thor thought everything would be well once he and Loki were married. But he truly did not know about all the pain his new husband was hiding inside himself. Slowly driven mad by all the cruelty Loki has faced back in his home world of Jotunheim, Loki escapes Asgard to prove to his father and fellow Jotuns that he was always worthy of the throne and should never had been hidden away. Thor chases after him as he tries to save Loki from himself before it's too late.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me months ago and it would not leave me alone. Or wait for me to finish some of my other stories before I even thought of starting it. It was an impatient bitch.
> 
> The fan art that inspired this story was done by Florbe and it was actually from a comic called "Thor's warprize". This is basically my take on what happens afterwards but here's the link to the comic, I originally found it on Pinterest but found a link to the artist's devianart: https://www.deviantart.com/florbe/gallery/48772768/Thor-s-warprize-comic

Some things simply cannot be forgotten. No matter how much you may wish them to be. They're always there. Lurking underneath the surface. Poking through the walls you've built up. Poisoning the newer thoughts. The pleasant thoughts. The newer, happier memories. Refusing to be forgotten. 

They'll never be forgotten. Never. They're always there.

\----

Thor had kept his promise. Loki was safe. He was no longer being treated as a prisoner of war, the son of the enemy, but as the prince he should have always been. He was given a home.

 

Home.

After this entire year, after he and Thor had been married, Loki still wasn't sure what to think of that. He had never had a home before. Well, he did once. But they were gone now and Loki saw no reason to bring them up now.

It was true, though, that he experienced more happiness, respect, and purpose here on Asgard then he ever did back on Jotunheim. And, at the beginning, it had felt good. Almost as good as when they were still in Loki's life.

But then he started to wonder... why hadn't he experienced any of this back on Jotunheim?

If Thor was right, and Loki knew he was, he was not only a prince but the crown prince of Jotunheim. Laufey's only heir to the throne for his father hadn't had any other children after his disappointing birth.

And yet he had never been treated as such.

Instead he had been hidden away his entire life so that the only one's who had known about his existence was his father, the servants, the healers who had helped birth him, and the royal court. He had been kept relatively fed, but there were days when he went without food or was mainly given leftover scraps. Mainly because food had been so scarce on Jotunheim and he was so small, he didn't need as much food as the others his father had said when Loki would cry from hunger. And though he was a prince he was never shown respect by anyone and was constantly called a useless runt or the bastard, Loki never knew who had birthed him. He suspected he had died, either during childbirth or for birthing the useless runt. And whenever Loki grew too sick or injured from his father's... visits... he was left to fend for his own. Healers had never been called to see him no matter how much he would beg for one to see him. He was kept isolated and alone and was never taught how to wield his ice magic, though he taught himself the best he could.

He was a prince, but he was kept locked away like a shameful secret. Mocked. Neglected. Abused. Unloved. And he never understood why.

Except he did.

He was a runt among a land of giants. No one could ever expect much from a runt like him. No one could love a runt like him. A runt like him was nothing...

"Loki?"

Loki quickly looked up to see Thor staring at him, the hint of concern in his eyes as he asked if he was alright. 

"Yes, sorry, just got a little distracted. You were saying?" Loki said as he picked up one of the pastries the servants had delivered to their rooms for the morning meal. There was always such an abundance of food around and Loki still found himself slightly shocked to know that he could eat his fill of it. The first time he had been delivered such a large serving Loki couldn't help but eat it all and as fast as he could, only to become violently sick after. He still remembered the rage in Thor's eyes when the palace healers had told him that he was far too thin and malnourished. He also remembered the far more hidden rage and concern in Frigga's eyes as well. It had taken a few months of a careful diet until they deemed Loki to be of a healthy weight and able to eat his fill without his getting sick. He still couldn't drop the need to eat the food quickly, still worried someone would take the food away from him

"I was saying that my mother wanted you to meet her in her rooms for your weekly lessons. You are having them today, yes?"

His lessons. Yes. That's right. Apparently Loki had a gift for magic and Frigga, Thor's mother, had wanted to know if he was interested in learning magic after she sensed the power lying dormant inside hi . Loki was. It was something that would have never been possible on Jotunheim, though Loki knew there were magic users that would have taught him if his father had allowed it. Which he wouldn't. It would have given the runt unnecessary ideas in his head and he needed to be kept down, in his place.

It had fascinated Loki, though. Magic. Seeing what Frigga could do with it. The power she held in her hands, in her very core. And then to see himself start to learn and weave that magic and feel it deep within him. It had been... unsettling at first. It had felt, at first, like there was too much power inside him. That he wouldn't be able to contain it all and that it would tear him up from the inside. But then Loki soon realized that wasn't what he was feeling. It felt more like he was finally complete and who he was meant to be. 

It was his first real taste of freedom.

When that realization came to him there was no peace for Loki. All he could think about where all the wrongs he had faced under his father's care and he, he couldn't turn a blind eye to it anymore. He had heard everything that Thor had told him, that he was a prince, that he deserved to be treated like one but Thor didn't know what he had gone through. Not completely. Only Loki did and it wasn't until he started learning magic, learning how to fight and hold his own and protect himself, that Loki truly started to understand what Thor was saying. What had been kept from him his entire life. And it wasn't fair.

Why did his father hate him so much? Why did it matter that he was born a runt? Why was he treated as if he was inferior? Why was he treated so cruelly? Only to be given away as a prize for Thor by Thor's own soldiers. Did his father even know where he was? Did he care? 

Thor said he loved him. Promised that his home would be his. But Asgard wasn't a home and Loki knew it would never be. Thor, Thor was good to him, but he didn't feel like his equal. Thor had him before they were married, when he was still a prize. But he wasn't a prize. He was a prince. A sorcerer. A fighter. And he deserved more! Was entitled to more! To respect, reverence, obedience, and a land to rule as king. And he will prove it. He will get what was owed to him.

"Loki, dear, are you all right?" 

Loki pulled himself from his thoughts and turned to Frigga, forgetting for a moment that he was at his lesson with Frigga and wondering how long he had been lost in his mind. "I'm well." Loki assured her quickly, not overly concerned whether or not she believed him. He had larger things to concern himself with.

"In that case, show me what you did again." Frigga asked him and Loki did. He was determined to master his magic as soon as he could. He needed to learn as much as he could, as fast as he could. He had no time to waste.

\----

Thor found Loki out in the training rings, again, and wasn't surprised to see him practicing with his knives again. Loki had been spending a lot more time practicing. Not only with his knives and daggers, but with fighting and even more with his magic. He also spent hours upon hours at the library learning whatever he could. Thor was sure it was to make up for all those years he had spent in solitude with no education or training. So it shouldn't really surprise him that Loki took to learning everything he could, it was clear he had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. But that's all he was doing.

Train. Study. Practice. Learn.

It didn't bother Thor, Loki deserved to learn whatever he wanted to and free to do as he pleased. But it left Thor feeling somewhat lonely.

Before, Loki stuck to Thor's side throughout the days after their wedding as he was reintroduced from a prisoner of war to his prince consort. Now Loki only spent time with Thor at meals and when they slept. He would join Thor's side if he asked him, but he always had this look on his face as if he's rather keep doing what he was doing then join Thor. So he started trying to leave Loki alone to see if he would seek Thor's company on his own again. He never did. And it troubled Thor. Especially as he recalled the words his father has told him.

\----

_"Keep an eye on that Jotun of yours."_

_Thor could hear the warning in his father's tone and turned to look at him._

_"Are you suspicious of Loki, father?" Already Thor was feeling quite protective over Loki and was ready to defend him from any of his father's criticsm and suspicions. They had just shared their first real night together and Thor was determined to do all he could for Loki and freeing him was the first thing to do._

_His father grunted, looking away from Thor and out into the distance. "I can see that you have already developed a fondness for the Jotun and it can quickly turn into a blind spot, Thor."_

_"Loki isn't dangerous."_

_"Not as he is now but you seek to give him freedom, the freedom to become more then he was able to. Perhaps you might not like who he becomes.'_

_"I trust Loki, father." Thor simply said, waving away his father's words._

_"You trust who he is now, a man who has been hurt. Who does not truly know who he is or just what he has been kept from. A man who is lost and desperate for any kindness or goodness he can finally get his hands on. A man who you have awoken to hope. To dream. To aspire for more. And you may not like just who he can become."_

_\----_

Thor pushed those thoughts away, sure that they had no merit, and focused back to the present as he heard a rather loud thud and looked up to see that the target they had tied to one of the branches had fallen and he could just make out the look of triumph on Loki's face. Thor stared back to where the target used to hang and saw one of the throwing knives lodged to the tree with a bit of the rope pinned. Loki had cut the rope.

"Well done, Loki." Thor called out, feeling genuine joy and pride for Loki but also a bit of concern. Loki hadn't been practicing with knives for long and yet he already seemed to have mastered it. Seem quite determined to master everything he was currently learning or training with.

Loki whirled around, facing Thor who couldn't help but noticing the way Loki's fingers tightened around the hilt of the dagger still in one hand, before relaxing both his hand and the annoyed look on his face, plastering on a genuine looking smile instead. It didn't reach his eyes though.

"Hello, Thor? Have you been watching me for a while? I hope I hadn't been keeping you waiting." Loki said carefully. He had been showing up for their lunches later and later, another concerning detail.

Thor shook his head. "Lunch is still an hour away, love. I was merely missing your company and came looking for you."

"Ah, of course," Loki said as he gathered up all his knives and daggers before storing them away with a wave of his hand, restoring the fallen target as well. "Well we could have lunch a little early if you'd like?" He offered with a strained smile.

"Actually..." Thor started off slowly, "there is something I must tell you. It's another reason I came looking for you."

"Is it urgent?" Loki asked.

"My father believes so, yes." Thor watched as Loki flinched. An entire year and neither Loki or his father had managed to warm to the other. Odin was still suspicious of Loki and urged Thor and his mother to be careful with him and just what they taught him or allowed him to learn. It seemed Loki's growing skill only served to cause his father to like Loki less and less. And Loki still seemed fearful of Odin. And his reason why had truly shocked Thor when they had finally spoken of it.

It was the knowledge that Odin had defeated Laufey that caused Loki to fear Odin so.

"My whole life," Loki had started off quietly, "my father had been the most powerful, fearsome, and daunting man I have known. It was how I knew I could never escape his grasp, because he was too strong to beat. But... your father did..."

"And know you are free of your father," Thor had said soothingly, holding Loki close to him. "Which proves just how much stronger you are then your father made you believe."

"Which proves," Loki said with a shake to his head, "that your father is the one to fear. He defeated mine, my tormentor as you say. What'll stop your father from becoming my new tormentor?"

Apparently Loki still couldn't let that fear go entirely, though he did his best to hide it from everyone, including himself. "We just received word from Jotunheim, from Laufey." Thor said quickly. "It seems that not only has your father survived the war but he is aware of our marriage and he is asking to meet with myself and my father to go over what he calls his demands."

"Oh?" Loki said with a blank face but Thor could see the tension around Loki's shoulders. "And? What are his demands?"

Thor let out a long sigh. It had irritated him to hear Laufey's demands when he first sent his letter. Especially as he knew that he truly didn't care about Loki but was merely trying to get one more thing from his son he's abused for centuries. "He is claiming that since you were taken from Jotunheim without his knowledge and married without his consent or blessing that we have not only insulted your honor, but his and all of Jotunheim's He is demanding recompense to restore your honor and he demands an offering of peace and goodwill to make up for the 'insult' of what we had done."

"The Casket?" Loki guessed, looking off towards the direction of the vault where Loki knew Odin kept an assortment of valuable treasures including the Casket of Ancient Winters taken from Jotunheim around the same time that Loki had been born. Though he's never seen it. And it would make sense that his father would now try to get it back by claiming to take offense to what he's claimed was a wrong against him. Even though he didn't care at all. "You aren't going to give it back to him, are you?" He looked towards Thor.

"No." Thor answered immediately. "My father doesn't think it'll be wise to do so but we still plan on going to Jotunheim to meet with Laufey and perhaps to some agreement. But we don't trust Laufey to hand him back the Casket."

"Probably for the best." Loki agreed, not much caring.

"Do you have any thought on it?"

Loki shook his head. "To be honest I don't know much about the Casket, I was never told about it or heard about it until your mother brought it up in one of the lessons she was giving me. I have little interest in it or my father and Jotunheim and leave it for you and your father to discuss it and decide what to do with it. When are you leaving?" 

"Shortly after lunch so perhaps we should take an early lunch." Thor said as he walked towards Loki, a smile on his face, and reached out to take his hand. Loki let him and let himself be lead away by Thor as he started to think.

\----

Loki went with Frigga to the Bifrost to wave Thor and Odin off as they headed towards Jotunheim with a small group of guards and Thor's friends accompanying them. As they watched the rainbow light of the Bifrost engulfing them and sending them away Loki couldn't help but remember his first terrifying ride through the Bifrost.

He had still been chained and his face was still bloodied. Thor had a hand wrapped tightly around his upper arm and had him pressed flushed against his side. Loki hadn't bothered to struggle as he had already been beaten and he was still confused by Thor's reaction when he had told him his name. And shocked by the unexpected and possessive kiss he had planted on his lips. And he remembered the sense of dread as he left one prison for another to be used however the crown prince of Asgard saw fit. The fear hadn't kicked in until Thor had called out for their ever observant watchman. Now, though, Loki simply looked around as he tried his best to understand how the Bifrost worked.

"Heimdall, you'll let me know when they are returning?" He heard Frigga asked and turned to see the dark man in his golden armor pulling out the great sword he used to open and close the Bifrost.

"Of course, my queen." He answered in his deep voice.

Frigga smiled at before turning to Loki. "Care to wait with me until they return?"

Loki smiled sweetly at her. "As lovely as that sounds I think I will go for a short walk before retiring to mine and Thor's room until it's time to meet them back here. Is that all right?"

"Of course dear," Frigga pushed his hair back fondly. "Feel free to do what you please, Loki. I'll send for you when it's time."

"Thank you Frigga." Loki called after her as she made her way back to the palace on her own. Loki was about to head after her when Heimdall's deep voice held him back.

"Tread carefully, young prince. There is no going back should you make the wrong decision."

Loki didn't turn or react sure. He wasn't sure what Heimdall was implying, what he knew or thought he knew. but it didn't matter. Loki made his choice long ago and remained silent as he walked off. He had no words for the watchman and once he was a safe distance away he made sure to hide himself from his gaze. Perhaps it'll arouse his suspicion but it didn't matter, Thor and Odin were not here and Frigga will be distracted. Now was the perfect time to act.

\----

When Thor had asked for his opinion on whether or not he thought the Casket should be returned to his father, to Jotunheim, Loki hadn't been lying when he said he had known nothing about it. He did now.

After Frigga had briefly brought it up Loki had took it upon himself to learn more about it. And so he did.

He had scoured the library until he had everything he could on the Casket and found a good bit. He had learned that centuries ago, before he and even Thor had been born, his father had invaded Midgard and had terrorized the mortals there, wanting them to to worship his and the Frost Giants as Gods. But Odin, who the mortals did recognize as one of their gods, considered himself the protector of Midgard and sent his warriors to defend the mortals, starting a war with his father that he would eventually lose. When Odin and his Asgardian soldiers came out victorious Odin, as punishment and to keep the Frost Giants in their place, took from them the Casket of Ancient Winters. The very heart of Jotunheim. 

Without it's heart Jotunheim slowly started to die and could not rebuild itself without the Casket. It left the Jotuns vulnerable and weakened which was exactly what Odin had sought out to do when he took the Casket. And now Loki wanted it.

He stopped by his rooms before heading off to the vault, wanting to make sure he had everything that he needed for he knew that he had to make a hasty escape once he got his hands on the Casket. He didn't linger in his rooms for long. Once he was sure he had everything he set off down the golden halls of the palace, no one stopping him to try and chat, Thor, Frigga, and sometimes Thor's friends were still the only one's who willingly talked to him. It suited him fine though. Once he got to the door leading to the hall that would take him to the vault Loki had some guards to deal with.

"Prince Loki." They greeted him with a nod, but they did not make way for him to pass.

"I'm headed for the vault." Loki informed them in a bland tone, trying to not look irritated when both guards turned to look towards each other.

"Do, do you have access to enter the vault, Prince Loki?" The older of the two guards asked him and Loki held back an irritated sigh.  _Technically_ neither Thor or Odin had told him that he was allowed in the weapons vault. But they never told him that he  _wasn't_ either. So Loki lied.

He put on one of his most charming smiles that never failed to get him whatever he asked for from either Thor or Frigga. "Yes, I believe I do. Thor had asked me to look into the vault to search for something that he said he and Odin were planning on gifting my father to placate him. I believe he said something about a jeweled staff? I told him my father wouldn't care for such a gaudy thing but neither he or his parents have need or want of it either so it won't be entirely missed." 

"We will join you then," the same guard spoke up, "and help you look for it." Loki frowned internally. He had hoped to go in alone but it seemed that even with the lie of Thor sending him they still did not trust him, the Jotun runt. No matter. He could deal with the guards later. 

"Very well then. Should we?" Loki asked, nodding towards the door. The guards stared at each other one more time before opening the door and gesturing for Loki to enter first. He did so. He walked in a couple of feet before he heard the sounds of the two guards following him and then of the door closing. Once he heard the door snapping shut Loki quickly summoned two daggers with his magic and whirled around, throwing them both towards the guards and watching as they let out low grunts as the daggers pierced through their neck. He watched them fall to the floor dead with emotionless eyes before turning and making his way further into the vault as he could feel something calling to him. Something old and powerful. The Casket.

He saw the blue glow before he saw the actual Casket and quickly made his way towards it, feeling the welcoming chill he hadn't felt in so long. So this was the Casket of Ancient Winters that his father and Jotunheim had lost. It called to Loki and he wasted no time in reaching for it and holding it in his hands, watching as the pale skin of the guise that Odin had forced on him fading back to his original blue skin. The Casket recognizing and welcoming and Loki could feel it's power pulsing inside him.

"Not yet." He reminded himself as he placed the Casket back down before waving his hand in front of him, storing it away in his pocket dimension and headed even further into the vault, surprised that no other guards were patrolling the inside of it or that there was any other defense inside it. Or perhaps there was and it simply didn't recognize him as someone who shouldn't be here. No doubt Thor's doing. Didn't matter. He got what he came for and now he needed to leave, leave Asgard behind and do what his father could not. He will claim Midgard as his own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, enjoy! :)

Something is wrong. Thor can tell right away as soon as the Bifrost brings them back to Asgard and there's no welcoming sight of Loki standing beside his mother like he promised. Instead Thor and his father, and the warrior's and friends they had brought with them, are greeted by a grim faced Heimdall, his mother looking concerned and slightly disappointed, and a few of the royal guard.

"What's happened?" Thor asks before his father gets the chance to do so. His mother looks at his sadly.

"Loki is missing. As is the Casket of Ancient Winters."

A numbing dread begins to fill Thor's chest at hearing that. But a part of him is unwilling to believe and he rises to Loki's defense. "You cannot mean that Loki is behind this. Loki may be Jotun but he doesn't even  _know_ what the Casket is."

"Two dead guards were found inside the vault, Thor. Loki's knives were embedded in their necks. I do not wish to believe it either, my son, but there is no doubt that Loki was behind this theft." His mother said and pulled from the folds of her dress the very knives Thor himself had gifted Loki a while back ago. But no. It couldn't be. Loki couldn't have used those knives to kill. To steal the Casket and disappear.

Odin let out an angry snarl from beside Thor before saying, "Laufey has distracted us. Send us back to Jotunheim immediately." He said the last part to Heimdall.

"No." Thor spoke up. "Loki would never go back to Jotunheim." That much he knew. He remembered the look on Loki's face when he had asked him where he would go. Loki had been frightened at just the thought of having to go back. He had cried silent tears as he repeatedly said, "Not there." Jotunheim is one place Loki would never choose to go, to return there.

"Then where is your precious Jotun, Thor?" Odin asked him, not entirely unkindly.

"I don't know." Thor answers feeling lost.

\----

Displeased with Thor's answer Odin immediately traveled back to Jotunheim with several guards and soldiers to confront Laufey on the theft of the Casket, sure that Loki wasn't working on his own. He forbade Thor from going with him and sent him and Frigga back to the golden palace. Once there Thor himself traveled to the weapons vault, still unable to believe that this was truly happening.

The dead guards were still lying on the ground, it had been decided that they were not to move until the Allfather himself has examined the bodies. Thor could see where the knives had embedded themselves in their necks, killing them. Thor look down at the knives that took their lives, he had taken them back from his mother. They had drying blood over them.

Thor wanted to believe that there was more to this. That Loki wasn't the one who had done this. That someone had attacked Loki, taken his knives and used them to kill the guards to place the blame on Loki before taking both Loki and the Casket with them. To throw them off their scents and place all the blame on sweet, innocent Loki. But even Thor wasn't that naive. Loki guarded his possessions, having grown up with very little to his name and having no reason to have pride over any belongings or skills. But one of the first things Loki was determined to learn with his magic was how to summon and hide his belongings, to keep others from searching and taking his things and always able to call them to him when needed. He had also placed wards on several of his things and, as far as he knew, only Thor had been allowed to touch his things. Whether that was because Loki trusted Thor or because he felt he needed to Thor was no longer sure and it bothered him.

Bothered him as much as the fact that Loki chose these knives to commit the murders. And that he had left them behind to be found. Did he want them to know it was him behind this? Why? And why these knives?

Sadness settles around him when he realizes why. This was Loki's way of showing him that he was leaving and turning his back on him and didn't want Thor to follow him and Thor wasn't entirely sure if he was going to let him do that. He hurried back to their rooms, not sure if he would really find anything there but still determined to look. Instead what he found saddened him. There was no real sign that Loki had gone, just his missing clothes and more of his knives and daggers and other magical artifacts. And yet their rooms still looked exactly the same. It was only then that Thor realized that their rooms looked as if only Thor resided in them. There was nothing truly of Loki's in here. No touch of his. Everything was simply Thor. As if Loki never existed. Never resided in these rooms with him. Only then did Thor realize that perhaps he had failed Loki.

He looked back down at the bloodstained knives. Loki was marking himself as a murderer. A betrayer. A traitor. But Thor wouldn't let him stay that way. He had made a promised to Loki. That his home would be his. He hadn't kept it as well as he had thought, but he will keep this promise. And the first step to doing so was with a little research of his own.

Loki had told him he had heard of the Casket of Ancient Winters but he had known next to nothing about it but that it had been taken from Jotunheim. He had told him that it had nothing to do with him, that he did not care if Jotunheim fell from the lack of one of their most important relics. But Thor should have realized that Loki would have gone looking for information. But once he did, what would he do with it?

He hadn't used it here on Asgard and Thor was sure that Loki wouldn't have simply taken it back to Jotunheim. He didn't care for it or anyone on it. But what he did, perhaps, care about was showing his worth. Proving he could do things he had been kept from. Proving that he was more then what he was told. That he wasn't just a runt. 

 Thor shoved the knives into the waist of his belt. He knew where he had to go, where Loki had gone, and he had to go now while his father was still on Jotunheim. Odin would most likely try to persuade Thor not to go, that there was no point in trying to reason with Loki and no saving him. But Thor didn't see it that way. Maybe Loki was beyond reach. Maybe Loki truly left those knives to show that there was no turning back for him, that he had chosen his own path and that it did not involve being at Thor's side. That he was turning his back on their marriage and freeing Thor from any sense of duty to go after him. But, to Thor, he saw it as Loki leaving him a little sign to come after him. Whether because deep down part of Loki recognized how bad this course of actions he was taking was or because he meant Thor harm he didn't know. But he wasn't going to stand back and watch Loki destroy himself.

"Thor," his mother's calm voice stopped him right in his tracks and turned to see his mother walking towards him, her face still pinched in worry. "Thor, where are you going?" Her eyes traveled down to Loki's bloodied knives and Thor watched as her shoulders relaxed and a sad little smile appeared on her lips. "You're going after Loki."

Thor nodded. "I am."

"You know where he's gone?"

"I'm sure I do."

"Then you best go have Heimdall take you there before your father returns." His mother said and Thor couldn't help but look at her, slightly surprised that she wasn't attempting to stop him or insist that they had to wait for the Allfather to return. Frigga's smile softened slightly. "I can't understand why Loki did... any of this. Why he has chosen to go down this path, to use all the skills he has learned for this or where he think it'll lead him. But I think you do or that you at least have an idea."

"Mother-" Thor began but Frigga raised a hand, silencing him so she could continue speaking.

"Loki is still family. Your father might disagree, he never did truly accept your desire to marry him, but Loki is family and I am sure that somewhere along the way we failed him. Loki was still hurting and we didn't help him enough. We simply tried to force, to replace, the horrible memories of his past with good one's. And it didn't help him any. He's hurting, Thor, and I want him back home with us. I want to help him like we should have. I'll deal with your father when he returns, Thor. Just bring Loki back home."

Thor stepped towards his mother, wrapping an arm around her, and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I will, mother," Thor vowed. "I won't give up on Loki and I won't fail him."

Frigga patted Thor's cheek. "Go on then." 

Thor nodded and headed towards the Bifrost. He had no idea how much time before his father returned from Jotunheim but he had to leave before then. Before he even called for Heimdall, for Heimdall would be duty bound to respond to his father's call to return first. Thor spun Mjolnir around and took off to the sky. Landing on the rainbow bridge he hurried to Heimdall who had his back turned to him.

"I have seen no sign of your husband, Prince Thor." Heimdall's deep voice reached him and Thor paid it no mind.

"I don't doubt that Loki will be keeping himself hidden from your sight but that's fine, I know where he is."

Heimdall turned to stare at him. "Should you not wait for the Allfather's return to inform him of Loki's whereabouts."

"Father would send men after him to capture or possibly kill him. I don't want that. I want to help Loki, to have him see reason. Father won't allow that." Thor explained and watched uneasily as Heimdall merely stood there, contemplating his words and his reasons, before he finally spoke. 

"Where should I send you then, Prince Thor?"

Thor straightened himself, preparing himself for whatever might happen next but still hoping for the best. 

"Midgard."

\----

It had been a rough landing, nothing at all like what it had been like when he had first traveled through the Bifrost, when he was leaving Jotunheim for Asgard.

_Taken. You were taken. Claimed as nothing but a spoil for the Crown Prince to use as he pleased. And used you he did, long before he spoke such pretty words into your ears._

Loki pushed the thought to the back of his mind, not sure why it came to him. He knew all that already and it no longer mattered, Loki made his choice, and made sure that Thor knew it as well.

_As if he'll let his concubine go so easily._

_Shut up!,_ Loki thought, angrily, and focused on where on Midgard he was. He had changed his clothes to better blend in with the mortals and was wearing a sleek black suit that molded to his body perfectly. He had wandered into a reasonably tall building and made his way, unnoticed, to the roof. Loki had studied Midgard briefly during his many long hours in the great library of Asgard, wanting to know as much about it as he could in an attempt to understand why his father had wanted it so badly and feeling rather confident that he could conquer it easily.

Loki could see now that the information was very behind.

Back when Laufey had first stepped foot on Midgard the mortals were living in houses made of wood and told stories of legends and magic and the gods and monsters around the fires, their entire livelihood dependent on stories. Looking around now, Loki had a sense that the mortals had evolved since then. He knew, had heard, that other realms still sometimes visited Midgard, that Thor himself sometimes came down here, disguising himself, so he wondered why no one had bothered updating the books. 

Loki grimaced, it certainly threw his original plan out the window, but Loki was good at adapting. All he needed to do was quietly observe, to learn, and Midgard would still fall under him his control, his rule. But, for now, Loki simply made his way down the roof with only one though in mind,  _where shall I make my home?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll most likely be at least two months before the next chapter is up. Sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be slow. Sorry.


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